There was an outpouring of grief as the city bid adieu to Ajay Gandhi, well-known chartered accountant and cultural maven, who passed away on Thursday evening.
A memorial meeting has been scheduled by his friends and well-wishers at the Marriott between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on September 26. On Thursday evening, his daughter Mansi had shared plans for a wake/celebration of Ajay Gandhi’s life.
“This one is for you dear friend. Bright. Spirited. Passionate. Humble. May your onward be in peace. Fare thee well Ajay Gandhi,” shared Amita Desai of Goethe Zentrum who worked with Ajay Gandhi on the annual Hyderabad Literary Festival.
Ajay Gandhi was one of the key persons who helped create a niche for the Hyderabad Literary Festival as well as the annual Manthan Samvad that brought some of the leading lights of India’s intellectual world to the city.
The two annual events enlivened cultural and literary life as Ajay Gandhi used his heft and rapport with people like P. Chidambaram to Arun Shourie to Shabana Azmi and calendar their events in the city.
“The world seems a much poorer place now, bereft of him. The hospitality that I quite often enjoyed in his home is something that I will always treasure. I don’t have any words of comfort for his wonderful family, I’m just too devastated,” wrote Sunita Reddy in her tribute. Other citizens who were touched by Ajay Gandhi during his lifetime expressed shock at his sudden demise.
